15 Montreal Parks Are Hosting Free Film Screenings Under The Stars This Summer

Cinéma sous les étoiles is back for its 14th edition this summer. The festival stages free documentary film screenings in Montreal parks. This year, 15 parks will host a total of 45 screenings.

The complete program is forthcoming. But organizers are so far highlighting the inclusion of works such as Big Fight in Little Chinatown by Karen Cho, Free Money by Sam Soko and Lauren DeFilippo, J’ai placé ma mère by Denys Desjardins, Mon pays imaginaire by Patricio Guzmán, Le Mythe de la Femme Noire by Ayana O’Shun, and Riposte féministe by Marie Perennès and Simon Depardon.

Experts and filmmakers will be present to discuss each work, according to event organizer Funambules Médias, whose broader mission is to "[work] towards the advent of a just and inclusive society through video production, training and the broadcasting of documentary films, by encouraging the expression of citizens' voices and the development of critical thinking."

There will also be a competition of documentary shorts. There are 25 participating films this year. A jury will award winning filmmakers a total of $25,000 in prizes.

The first screening this year, Guzmán's Mon pays imaginaire, will take place at Parc Laurier on June 28. The festival will conclude on August 31.

Cinéma sous les étoiles is not the only local film festival to have announced its 2023 return. Film noir au Canal will once again take to the southern bank of the Lachine Canal with free film noir movie screenings every Sunday between July 16 and August 20.